Raging wildfire in southern France forces Tour de France to bar fans from stage 3 finish

LES ANGLES, France (AP) — A large wildfire in the south of France prompted Tour de France organizers to ban fans from attending the finale of the third stage of cycling's showpiece race on Monday.

After a couple of days in Spain, the race enters France with a stage to the Pyrenees town of Les Angles, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from a fire that has burned large swathes of land.

“The exceptionally large wildfire currently raging in the Pyrénées-Orientales is requiring a massive mobilization of wildfire-fighting resources, internal security forces, and all government agencies,” Tour de France organizers said. “The top priority remains the protection of people, property, and natural areas, as well as bringing the fire under control.”

As a result, organizers decided that once the peloton reaches France for the last 40 kilometers, the publicity caravan — a 10-kilometer-long procession of sponsor vehicles that precedes the race — will not operate. Only riders and vehicles essential to the race will be allowed on the route, and spectators have been asked not to gather on the roadside or at the finish area.

The local prefect, Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, said that the order not to line the Tour route’s roads is an obligation and that violators risk being sanctioned. By Sunday night, the fire had raged over 4,500 hectares after starting Saturday evening in Trévillach. The prefect said five people had been slightly hurt.

Nearly 700 fire fighters were battling the blaze, Regnault de la Mothe added. It prompted authorities on Sunday night to order the evacuation of more than two dozen villages.

Stage 3 started from the Spanish town of Granollers, where temperatures reached around 35 degrees Celsius, race organizers said, quoting the Spanish Meteorological Agency. It features a 9.3-kilometer (5.8-mile) ascent up Col de Toses at an average gradient of 6.5%. The climb is ranked as Category 1, the second-hardest level behind Hors Categorie (which means beyond classification).

Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike team retained the yellow jersey on Sunday, holding a six-second lead over four-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Emirates-XRG.

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The pack rides during the second stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 168.5 kilometers (104.3 miles) with start in Tarragona and finish in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Clashes broke out inside a prison in the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s capital, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 100, officials and a TV station reported Monday.

Police said the unrest at the prison in Negombo, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital, Colombo, began on Sunday and continued on Monday. Spokesman Chandana Herath said there were fatalities but could not immediately confirm the toll reported by local television station Hiru.

Victims include both inmates and prison officials, the TV reported.

Prison spokesman A.C. Gajanayake said the violence started among inmates and when prison guards attempted to intervene on Monday, “they (inmates) started attacking the prison officials.”

He told reporters that some inmates attempted to escape but were stopped.

The clashes left several officials and inmates dead while several were hospitalized, Gajanayake said, without giving the exact numbers.

An official at the area's main state-run hospital said more than 100 people were admitted with injuries from the prison clash. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He did not specify the injuries.

Sri Lankan prisons are highly congested, with more than 39,000 inmates crowded into a system with a total capacity of just 10,000.

Security personnel escort prisoners to a bus in the compound of a prison where deadly clashes broke out on Sunday, in Negombo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

A crowd of people wait outside a prison where deadly clashes broke out on Sunday, in Negombo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

Security personnel stand guard in the compound of a prison where deadly clashes broke out on Sunday, in Negombo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

A relative of an inmate breaks down outside a prison where deadly clashes broke out on Sunday, in Negombo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

Security personnel stand guard outside a prison where deadly clashes broke out on Sunday, in Negombo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo)